Norway in a Nutshell

If I take the train from Oslo to Mydal, how do I book the flamsbana.

www.vy.no

It looks like the flamsbana goes from Flam - Mydral - Flam.

Yes, it goes between Myrdal, a station on the Oslo-Bergen line, and Flåm.

How do I book the flamsbana from Mydral to Flam for July 24th?

As mentioned above, www.vy.no

We just did the trip all in one day--Oslo to Bergen. The Flam Railroad going down into the fjord was the highlight of the trip. We got into Bergen about an hour before dark.

We'd much rather spend the extra day in Bergen than Balestrand. We've been to many countries, but I can honestly say I've never seen more beautiful people than in Bergen. And they were so sweet to us tourists.

When you book your train tickets on the vy.no website, your origin is Oslo S; your destination is Flam. Your ticket will show the two segments separately. You'll probably be able to choose seats on the train to Myrdal but not on the Flamsbana. The Vy website didn't like my credit card, so I used PayPal. Be sure you pay in NOK rather than in dollars.

If you want to take the ferry between Flam and Gudvangen, you should get that ticket in advance as well. NorwaysBest.com sells tickets on one of the ferry lines. You might be able to book a combination ticket that includes that ferry and the bus from Gudvangen to Voss. If not, it shouldn't be a problem. I just paid the bus driver (probably by tapping my credit card, but I really don't remember).

The conventional wisdom is that you don't need to pre-book the train from Voss to Bergen, but I got that ticket in advance from vy.no. If you don't have just time at Voss, why be stressed a out buying a train ticket?

Be sure you have accurate m information about the schedule for the express boat that connects Flam to Balestrand. That link only runs once a day in each direction.

And I would by far prefer to spend the extra day in Balestrand, where I spent a few days last August. I can't wait to get back.

I have the eurail pass. If I book the train from Oslo to Mydral using the train pass, how do I book the flambana from Mydral to Flam?

In that case, see whether vy.no will sell you just the Myrdal-Flam ticket. If not, maybe it's bookable on the NorwaysBest website. If still no luck, the Oslo Tourist Office located very near the Oslo Sentral train station can probably point you in the right direction. The Visitor Center in Flam (which seems pretty worthless for everything except selling tickets for tourist transportation and tours) should be able to sell you the Flamsbana ticket; I can't guarantee that because at one time it only sold round-trip tickets (mainly to cruise-ship passengers).

It really would be best to get that ticket before you arrive in Norway. I think sellouts are possible, and with only one Flam-Balestrand ferry and only a few Flam-Gudvangen ferries per day, you may need to be on one specific Flamsbana departure.

Unfortunately, rail passes often make things harder rather than easier.